Premier League - Newcastle make point at Everton
Newcastle came from two goals down to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw with Everton in an absorbing Premier League encounter at Goodison Park.
In a game that neither side could afford to lose, the spoils were eventually shared after goals either side of half-time from Newcastle's Steven Taylor and Damien Duff cancelled out Mikel Arteta and Marouane Fellaini's first half strikes for Everton.
The result ended a series of five consecutive defeats for crisis club Newcastle - moving them up to 18th, ahead of Stoke - while the point was struggling Everton's first of the season at home.
In the week leading up the match, attention had been focused of Magpies' boss Joe Kinnear following his foul-mouthed tirade at journalists, and prior to kick-off the cameras were again focused on the interim manager as he took his seat in the director's box - a result of a two-match touchline ban.
From the stands Kinnear saw Everton start the better of the two sides, Yakubu going close to opening the scoring as early as the seventh minute; the Nigerian could not quite wrap his boot around the ball as it ran away from him inside the box and his effort flew wide of the upright.
But the home fans did not have to wait much longer for their understandably frail nerves to be settled as referee Howard Webb awarded Everton a spot kick after Nicky Butt tripped Leighton Baines in the box.
It was a stonewall penalty, one which Arteta - wearing the captain's armband in the absence of the injured Phil Neville - duly dispatched after sending Shay Given the wrong way.
Newcastle responded well to going a goal down and if anything taking the lead had an unsettling effect on Everton, who nearly saw their lead wiped out on 23 minutes. Only a decent save and some last ditch defending prevented the equaliser when Duff's first-time shot was parried away by Tim Howard before Danny Guthrie's follow-up was blocked and then Taylor saw his effort cleared off the line by Steven Pienaar.
But despite Newcastle's positive response, the next goal came Everton's way as Fellaini's toe poke from Baines's cross opened up a two-goal deficit for the hosts on 35 minutes.
Two-nil down and Newcastle were rocking but goals immediately before and after half-time - both involving Taylor - saw them stage a comeback as unlikely as it was dramatic.
Being a home-grown player, Taylor has perhaps felt the Magpies' current predicament more than most, so it was fitting that he should be the source of his side's remarkable turnaround.
In first-half stoppage time, he popped up at the back post to meet Geremi's deep cross with a thunderous header which crashed in off the underside of the bar to give Newcastle real hope of getting back into the game.
And then, just seconds after the restart, Taylor took advantage of some slack Everton defending to get to the by-line and pull the ball back towards the penalty spot where Duff fired home with a sweet first-time shot.
With the score at 2-2, the game was so finely balanced it was impossible to predict the outcome.
As it was, there was no further breakthrough, although both sides had their chances to grab an all-important winner.
For Everton, Leon Osman forced Given into a smart save, substitute Victor Anichebe saw a side-footer curl just the wrong side of the post and Yakubu headed weakly straight at Given as time ran out.
But the best chance of the second period fell the visitors' way, Shola Ameobi carving the Toffees' defence wide open with a neat run before squaring the ball for Charles N'Zogbia. But the Frenchman's goalbound shot was brilliantly blocked by a last ditch Baines lunge and the chance went begging - as did Newcastle's hopes of securing a famous comeback. |
發表於 2008-10-6 01:40 AM
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